The present invention relates generally to arrays of circuit board modules and more particularly to subassemblies in such arrays. In a typical electronic component assembly, one or more trays are used to house a plurality of circuit boards or sled modules. An example of such an array contains many circuit sled modules that each hold one or more mass storage devices such as hard disk drives (HDD). Such arrays are often used to implement large-scale database applications. A typical sled module has a chassis or housing to which a HDD is mounted, the HDD, a circuit board, and a front panel. The ends of such a circuit sled module typically contain mating connectors which mate with corresponding mating input/output connectors at the back end of the tray. The circuit board may also contain a connector which mates to the interface on the back of the HDD.
Because HDDs come in non-standard sizes and formats, one circuit sled module with a mechanically fixed housing and fixed input/output ports on the circuit board cannot accommodate many different types and brands of HDDs. It is desirable that the HDD data interface port and power port mate directly with the corresponding ports on the circuit board so that cables to connect the ports are not needed, thus reducing the size and number of parts of the sled module. However, the data interface and power ports of the various brands and types of HDDs are not all in the exact same place and the thicknesses of the HDDs vary as well. Thus, it is desirable to have a circuit sled module which can adjust to accommodate HDDs with a variety of data interface and power port positions without the need for interface and power cables connecting the HDD and the circuit board.
The present invention is a circuit sled module for a mass storage device which adjusts as necessary to fit a variety of brands and sizes of mass storage devices. The adjustments are made through the use of spacers on either side of the mass storage device and a hole in the cover of the sled module. The result is a sled module which has a circuit board which can mate its power supply and data interface connectors directly to the power supply and data interface ports on a variety of mass storage devices without the need for data or power cables, thus minimizing the size of the sled module and number of parts needed to produce it.
The sled module for a mass storage devices comprises a housing or chassis, a mass storage device, a circuit board, spacers which position the mass storage device, and a cover. The mass storage device can be a hard disk drive, recordable or re-writable CD-ROM drive, recordable or re-writable DVD drive, or any other form of mass storage. The mass storage device can have a data interface port and a power supply port and the circuit board can have a corresponding data interface connector and a power supply connector. The spacers can be positioned on either side of the mass storage device, thereby aligning the ports on the mass storage device with the corresponding connectors on the circuit board. The cover of the sled module can have a hole in it which allows for mass storage devices of different heights.